Millennium Management LLC, the large US hedge fund which runs USD14.1billion in AUM, is looking to establish a presence in South Korea reported the Korea Herald this week. This follows the country’s recent decision to get its hedge fund industry off the ground. If successful at getting regulatory approval for the establishment of a local affiliate, Millennium Management will become South Korea’s first Western hedge fund. It hopes to seek approval as early as this month. A spokesperson for the Financial Services Commission said that they had been in talks with the company “although an official document for approval has not been submitted yet”. To receive a regulatory permit the affiliate would need to have equity capital of over USD5million, a hedge fund larger than USD1billion at its parent company and a professional workforce of more than three staff. By developing its onshore hedge fund industry South Korea hopes it will inject liquidity into the local market. Previously, its investors could only invest in hedge funds overseas. Last month, the FSC approved the licenses for 12 local hedge funds operated by nine asset managers including the likes of Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Millennium Management already has a presence in Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing and Tokyo.